Citing the dramatically increasing economic costs of hurricanes that have hit the US in recent years, often reaching into the tens of billions of dollars, the National Science Board has proposed a $300 million per year initiative to more deeply involve the federal government in hurricane research.
The National Hurricane Research Initiative, released on Capitol Hill by the NSB in late September, calls for Congress to appropriate new money for research into the science of hurricanes, particularly what controls a storm’s intensity (see Physics Today, August 2006, page 74), and engineering studies to develop stronger buildings and infrastructure to better withstand hurricane winds and flooding. The research would also look at the social and economic impacts left in the wake of a hurricane with the goal of providing better assistance to those coping with the destruction.
“The big one is coming,” said Senator Bill Nelson, a Florida Democrat,...
